Tiger nuts aren’t really nuts. They are tubers that grow under the soil’s surface but are commonly called nuts. Tiger nuts are often cultivated for its edible tubers and this milky, nutty-tasting tuber is plentiful in Nigeria and can also be found in the Spanish drink, horchata. In Nigeria, the Hausas call it ‘Aya’; Yorubas call it ‘Ofio’; the Igbos, ‘imumu’ or ‘aki Hausa’; while the Hausas make a drink called ‘Kunun Aya’ from it. Tiger nuts are also called chufa nuts and have a nutty taste similar to coconuts. Known as one of the world’s healthiest snacks, tiger nuts are high in fibre, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin E. As a matter of fact, tiger nuts have as much iron as red meat and as much potassium as coconut water. They are allergen free, gluten free, dairy free, and chocked full of resistant starch, which is a type of fibre that is pre-biotic.

BENEFITS OF TIGER NUTS

They help to stimulate the immune system by preventing cardiovascular diseases, stroke and cancer. The nuts have essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron which are used to build strong bones and muscles; repair tissues and help the blood stream.

In China, tiger nut juice is used as a liver tonic and heart stimulant. The nuts contain a lot of oleic acids which helps to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride, adding that it also prevents hardening of the arteries. It helps to prevent constipation because it aided proper digestion.

Tiger nuts also contain enough protein and carbohydrates with good quantity of vitamin B1. This assists in balancing the central nervous system and helps to encourage the body to adapt to stress. It’s used to treat stomach pain, aid normal menstruation, adding that it helped to heal mouth and gum ulcers.

The nut promotes the production of urine and serves as a preventive measure for prostate cancer, hernia, rectum deformation and prolapse. Tiger nuts helps in stress management by helping the body to stay balanced and also helps to prevent fibrosis as well as blockage of the tip of the fallopian tube. The high fibre content of the tiger nuts makes it a good colon evacuator and cleanser and can help one to lose weight. The black species of the tiger nuts is an excellent medicine for breast lumps and cancer. Nursing mothers should eat a lot of tiger nuts for enough production of breast milk to satisfy their babies.

TIGER NUTS AS A GOOD APHRODISIAC
For those who suffer from low sexual libido, tiger nuts, coupled with dates and coconut, supply the body with enough quantity of Vitamin E, essential for fertility in both men and women hence a good aphrodisiac that helps enhance sexual libido.

BENEFITS OF DATES AND COCONUT

We can talk about benefits of dates and coconut for a long time. These plants have no less benefits than tiger nuts. Coconut, for example, also contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin E, C, folate and fibre. The pulp of coconut improves digestion and vision, restores strength, and increases immunity. It also prevents the occurrence of cardiovascular and oncological diseases. It has an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial effect. The coconut is useful for the skin. Women often use coconut cream and oil to improve, refresh and tone up their skin. The benefits of coconut is invaluable.

As for dates, they contain a good amount of dietary fibre (6.7 g per 100 g of product). Dietary fibres normalize digestion, free the body of toxins, and have positive impact on immunity. They have also been known to be very beneficial during pregnancy. They are recommended as a substitute of sugar. They are useful with rich energy value of 277 kilocalories in 100 grams. They are very nutritious and energizing. Due to its calcium content, dates provide strong bones, skeleton and teeth.

HOW TO PREPARE TIGER NUTS, DATES AND COCONUT DRINK

What You Need:

• 2 ½ cups Tiger nut
• 1 medium sized Coconut
• 8 – 10 pieces Dates (Note that the more dates you add, the sweeter the drink)
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
• Water (just enough to blend all. Quantity depends on how much you have to blend so use as required)

Instructions:

• Wash the tiger nuts to rid them of dirt and sand. Put in a bowl and add water to soak overnight. After soaking, drain the water and set aside.
• Break the coconuts and separate the white part from the shell. Then, cut the coconuts into smaller pieces for easy blending and set aside.
• Take out the seeds from the dates and soak the dates in hot water to soften. You can also soak the dates before removing the seeds when soft, depending on your preference. Skip the soaking if your dates are already soft but do not forget to remove the seeds.
• Add the soaked tiger nuts, coconut and the softened, seedless dates to a blender. Add enough water (you can make use of the water previously used to soak the dates as it contains some of the nutrients from the dates) and blend until smooth and completely pulverized.
• Using a cheesecloth, muslin, a large fine sieve or any clean handkerchief, squeeze and sieve the blend until you get all the milk out. You can do this repeatedly by putting the blended shaft back into the blender, add some water and then, blend and sieve again until you extract as much milk as possible.
• Pour the sieved juice into a cleaned blender, add the ground ginger and blend one last time and sieve. You can skip this step if you don’t want any spiciness.
• Serve warm or chilled. You can also serve with any breakfast cereal.

This drink should last for about 2 days in the fridge. Shake well before you drink.

Enjoy!